Bears Take On SoCon-Leading Chattanooga In Home Finale

Thursday, February 26

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

East Tennessee State

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Bears Take On SoCon-Leading Chattanooga In Home Finale

2/27/2026 2:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Todd Anderson, anderson_t02@mercer.edu

MACON – The Mercer women's basketball team will snap the lid on the regular season portion of its 2025-26 schedule on Saturday afternoon when they lock horns with Southern Conference-leading Chattanooga in the front half of a women's and men's doubleheader in Macon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hawkins Arena.

Fans unable to make the trip to Middle Georgia can still follow the action for free via a live statistics link provided by the MU athletics department. The game is also scheduled to be broadcasted live on ESPN+ with Billy Andrews and Bill Connelly handling the call. Rick Cameron and the rest of the Mercer Sports Network will call all of the action as well, and fans can listen to that broadcast on The Creek 100.9 FM, or by visiting Sportsmic.

ABOUT THE GAME
Date: Saturday, February 28 Time: 2 p.m. ET Location: Macon, Ga. I Hawkins Arena TV: ESPN+ Listen Live: 100.9 The Creek I Sportsmic Network Live Statistics: MercerBears.com/Live Twitter Updates: @Mercer_WBB

TICKETS
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visiting MercerBears.com/Tickets.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer trimmed a 13-point deficit in the third quarter down to just two points near the midway point in the fourth period, but visiting East Tennessee State held the Bears scoreless over the game's final six minutes on the way to a 58-51 triumph on Thursday evening at Hawkins Arena. The Orange & Black matched a season-best with just six turnovers against ETSU, but also mustered a season-low five free throw attempts.

ABOUT THE BEARS
The Bears (16-12, 6-7 SoCon) have come away empty in three out of their last four outings, but still sport their most home wins (8) since recording 10 victories in Hawkins Arena amid the 2023-24 campaign. Mercer has split its last four home finales, and will look for its first win in such contests since a 76-69 triumph over Samford on March 2, 2024. The Bears are also set to honor their three-member senior class – Ariana Bennett, Elena Cabello and Nahawa Diarra – prior to tipoff on Saturday as well.

SCOUTING CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs (18-8, 10-3 SoCon) share the top spot in the Southern Conference standings with red-hot Wofford heading into the weekend, but have dropped three of their last five contests, including a 77-70 loss at Samford on Thursday evening. Despite shooting 42 percent from the field and scoring 66.2 points per game over the last five outings, the Mocs have allowed opponents to shoot at the same rate and score 65.0 points of their own. All three of their setbacks in that same stretch have been by seven or less points, including a 4-point loss at Wofford and a one-point nailbiter to East Tennessee State at home in double overtime. Caia Elisaldez (16.3 ppg) and Gianna Corbitt (14.9) rank first and third, respectively, among SoCon scoring leaders, with Corbitt also ranking third (8.2 rpg) among the league's rebounding specialists.

MERCER/CHATTANOOGA SERIES
Chattanooga leads the 43-year-old series, 27-11, and will ride a nine-game series win streak into Hawkins Arena on Saturday including a win over the Bears earlier this season in Chattanooga, Tenn. Mercer's last win in the series came on the road when the Bears stormed into McKenzie Arena and delivered a 59-53 loss to the Mocs on Feb. 3, 2022.

UP NEXT
Mercer will begin its postseason road on Thursday (March 5) when it heads to Asheville, N.C., for the 2026 SoCon Basketball Championships. Pairings and tipoff times for the event will be announced this weekend.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, follow the Bears on social media at @Mercer_WBB (X/Twitter), /MercerWBB (Facebook) and @Mercer_wbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.